A computer system may provide collections of data. For example, each data collection may pertain to a particular component in a distributed network. The data collections may interrelate. The interrelation may be, e.g., with respect to the commonality of particular objects, places, events, people, and/or categories of information or data to the collections of data. For example, each data element, e.g., a data record, of the collections of data may be associated with one or more events. Those data elements of each of the data collections that correspond to the same event may be said to interrelate. Another example may be where the data elements of the data collections are sorted according to the same sorting algorithm, e.g., alphabetically, numerically, by date and/or time, or other conventional sorting algorithms. Data elements of the data collections may accordingly be said to interrelate if they correspond to the same letter, number, or date and/or time, respectively. Similarly, they may be said to at least approximately relate if they correspond to the same interval of letters, numbers, etc.
Data collections are conventionally stored, e.g., in a computer memory. For example, they may be stored in a file or database. A user may view the data collections, for example, via a user interface in which the data collections, or portions of the data collections are displayed. The user may select a particular data collection to be displayed in the user interface. Often the data collections include more data elements than that which can be displayed at once in the user interface. To view all of the data elements, the user may scroll through the data collection.
It may be desirable for the user to view those records of all or a number of the data collections that relate to a particular object, place, event, person, letter, number, time, etc. There are a number of conventional ways for the user to do so. It is conventional for the user to perform separate searches for each data collection. For example, the user may enter search parameters. The search parameters may include an identification of a particular data collection, and a particular time interval for example. The user may repeat the search a number of times, each time changing the identification of the data collection. However, since only matching records are returned and displayed, the user does not readily ascertain the context of the particular returned records. For example, data that corresponds to a time interval immediately proceeding the searched time interval, although not directly relevant, may provide a context for the data records that correspond to the searched time interval. Furthermore, since the records of each of the searched data collections are separately returned in response to separate searches, the interrelationship of the data records of the different data collections may not be immediately apparent to the user. It is also conventional to provide a number of windows in the user interface. Each window includes the data records of a particular data collection. However, if the number of records of the data collections that match the search criteria are too numerous to display at once in the windows, then the user must scroll through the records to view all of the matching records. Since the user separately scrolls through each of the windows, the user cannot readily ascertain the interrelationship between the matching records of each of the data collections.
It is also conventional for the user to simultaneously search a number of data collections. In response to the search, the records of all searched data collections may be combined into a single list, for example sorted according to the searched time interval. However, it may be desirable for the user to keep track of the particular data collections to which each of the displayed records belongs. For example, the user may want to view data records or entries generated or entered at a particular time interval for all components on the distributed network, but may want to view the data in order to draw conclusions regarding the functionality of each component separately and of the interaction between the components. However, where all records are combined into a single list, it is difficult to keep track of the particular data collections to which each of the displayed records belongs.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system and method for displaying data of a number of data collections to aid a user in determining a relationship of data of a particular data collection to other data of the same data collection and to other data of different data collections.